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Be Health Aware

Understanding our own health and how to access the care we need - our health literacy - is now more important than ever. Advances in modern medicine and knowledge about what care best suits each of us is flourishing, increasing the options we face.

Be Health Aware is a portal to evidence-based information and resources that act as a guide to the health care choices we need to make, whether in relation to a particular disease, treatment, service or policy.

The Consumers Health Forum has developed Be Health Aware as part of our advocacy of health literacy as a central element of consumer-centred health care. Evidence shows best health outcomes significantly rely on an informed and engaged patient and consumer.

Welcome to Be Health Aware - if you have ideas of resources to include on this page we would love to hear from you.

What is health literacy?

According to the Australian Commission of Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC), health literacy is about how people understand information about health and health care, and how they apply that information to their lives.

Information on COVID-19

COVID-19, the new coronavisus disease at the heart of the world-wide pandemic, is highly infectious and can potentially cause the death of many more people than are affected by influenza. People who are elderly, or who already have a compromised immune system or respiratory illness, are particularly at risk.

Most people who fall sick with COVID-19 will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment, and any long-term effects of the disease are not yet undertstood.

Controlling the spread of the virus is the primary concern for health authorities becasue of the risks both to patients and to front-line medical staff

Medical scientists around the world are collaborating to investigate treatments and ways to control the disease.

As a part of the increased services by the Australian Government, Healthdirect Australia is delivering the new National Coronavirus Helpline (1800 020 080), a dedicated service scaled to meet the volume of calls and assess symptomatic callers.

Finding information online

CHF encourages you to go online to use the Healthdirect website to find the health information you need. The website is regularly updated from government sources to provide timely and accurate consumer-friendly advice and information.

The Healthdirect Symptom Checker is an online self-guided tool to help identify COVID-19 symptoms and give people advice on what they should do next, such as calling ahead before a visit to a GP or emergency department.

The Service Finder lists COVID-19 respiratory centres and other services.

CHF emphasises that the Chief Medical Officer and Department of Health are monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak closely and new information is published as it comes to hand. CHF recommends this is the best and most current source of information about the new virus, and how it is being contained in Australia.

Private Health Insurance

Do you need Private Health Insurance? With so many policies to choose from, how do you know which one is right for you? On 1 April 2019, private health insurance begins the most extensive changes in recent years. Learn more about how it works, compare policies and understand your options.

Medicare

Learn more about Medicare, the scheme that gives Australian residents access to healthcare. You can access your Medicare account through myGov, a system that allows you to securely access multiple government services with one login.

Carers

Carers are those who provide care and support to a family member or friend with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, an alcohol or other drug issue or who are frail aged. If you are a Carer, it is important that you also take care of your own health and wellbeing.

Do you need an interpreter to help with a medical emergency or inquiry?

Always call 000 directly if you need to contact emergency Ambulance, Police or Fire services. The 000 emergency services line will call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) and connect you with an interpreter using a priority line 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

TIS National can help communications with: medical and health practitioners, pharmacists and emergency services. It provides interpreting services to people who do not speak English and to agencies and businesses that need to communicate with their non-English speaking clients. These services enable non-English speakers to independently access services and information in Australia.

TIS National can call on 3000 interpreters across Australia in more than 160 different languages. Non-English speakers can access immediate telephone interpreters through TIS National by calling 131 450.

Alternatively, if you contact an organisation directly it may organise an interpreter on your behalf.

Get updates from CHF

Our monthly newsletter 'Consumers Shaping Health' will keep up to date with our activities and opportunities for you be involved and have your say. You can choose to hear from us about new opportunities, events, webinars and more.

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Consumers Health Forum of Australia receives funding from the Australian Government as the peak national healthcare consumer organisation under the Health Peak and Advisory Bodies Programme.